Burnstar's Legacy
by Marionettes
Summary: Burnstar has left behind three kits that many cats believe to be the ones foretold to deliver the clans from evil. ThunderClan is being ripped apart at the seams and WindClan is in turmoil after Galestar's death. At the cost of how many lives can the clans be saved? And from what evil are they being saved from? See the first book, Firestar's Prophecy.
1. Alliances and Prologue

**_ShadowClan_**

**Leader** Stormstar—an older dark gray tabby she-cat.  
_Apprentice_, Brackenpaw

**Deputy** Sootwhisker—dark gray tom. Mate is Frostdawn.  
_Apprentice, _Stealthpaw

**Medicine Cat** Swampfur—dark brown tabby tom.  
_Apprentice_, Dawnpaw

**Warriors**

Rosefur—pale ginger she-cat.  
_Apprentice_, Emberpaw

Flowerpelt—pale tortoiseshell she-cat. Formerly from WindClan.

Swiftstep—lithe ginger tabby tom.

Floodstream—pretty silvery-gray she-cat.

Sleetstorm—white tom.

Ashtail—gray tom.

Stonefoot—gray tabby tom with white flecks.  
_Apprentice_, Foxpaw

Amberlight—white she-cat with ginger-gray flecks.  
_Apprentice,_ Fawnpaw

Risingflight—brown tabby she-cat.

Smokefur—pale gray tom with dark green eyes.

Thornclaw—small gray-brown tom.

Stealthwind—gray tom.

**Apprentices**

Fawnpaw—pretty gray she-cat with pale blue eyes.

Foxpaw—dark brown tabby tom with white paws.

Emberpaw—ginger tom.

Brackenpaw—dark tortoiseshell tom.

Dawnpaw—small ginger she-cat.

**Queens**

Frostdawn—beautiful white she-cat. Expecting Sootwhisker's kits.

**Elders**

Wiseheart—a brown tom, whose build hints of older glory.

Cardinalflight—bright orange she-cat.

Moonpelt—large silvery-white tom.

**_RiverClan_**

**Leader** Wolfstar—enormous dark gray tom.

**Deputy** Brightfur—bright orange she-cat.

**Medicine Cat** Rushtail—dark gray tabby she-cat.  
_Apprentice_, Cloudfoot

**Warriors**

Stoneclaw—pale gray tom.

Dappledflower—beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat.

Forestwind—mottled brown she-cat with one large ginger patch.

**_ThunderClan_**

**Leader** Crowstar—old dark gray tom.

**Deputy** Scarfoot—handsome brown tom with a gash across his left forepaw.

**Medicine Cat** Greenfern—pretty calico she-cat.

**Warriors**

Bluefoot—silvery blue she-cat.

Gingerfrost—lithe dark ginger tabby she-cat with white flecks.  
_Apprentice_, Falconpaw

Eclipsefur—young black she-cat.  
_Apprentice_, Skypaw

Mintwhisker—white-ginger tabby tom.

Firstflight—dark ginger tabby she-cat.

Leif—black she-cat with a white face and paws. (Nightfur)

Fable—light gray tabby tom. (Graystorm)

Jumper—entire black tom with several scars. (Longclaw)

**_WindClan_**

**Leader** Ravenstar—sleek black she-cat.

**Deputy** Lightfoot—sandy tom with bright blue eyes.

**Warriors** Dovefeather—pretty white she-cat.

Hareflight—light brown she-cat with pale blue eyes.

Birchfur—large white tom.  
_Apprentice_, Littlepaw

Snowface—white tom.

* * *

Prologue

Stormstar sat outside Burnstar's den, really it was her den but she didn't want to call it that yet. Swampfur had not given anyone any details on the circumstances of his death. Flowerpelt had seemed almost indifferent whereas Floodstream was forlorn. Stormstar had even noticed a difference in Swampfur who no longer seemed confident in his skills. He was lost. They had not had an honest conversation in many days and that communication, in Stormstar's opinion, was vital. Perhaps it was time to be assertive and change that.

Stormstar walked briskly towards Swampfur's den. He and one of Burnstar's kits were chatting within his den.

"Are you busy Swampfur?" Stormstar inquired. He nodded and said something to Dawnkit who sent scuttling off back towards the nursery.

"She seems very interested in StarClan and medicine," he said with a tinge of regret, almost tragically. "How can I help you?"

"Just curious if StarClan has shared anything with you recently?" the gray she-cat asked. Swampfur hesitated and then shook his head. "Are you sure? I feel as though you've been withholding information from me."

He considered her accusation carefully and then finally said, "Only bad news."

"I still have a right to know."

"StarClan is not the StarClan you knew in your youth, something terrible has happened to our ancestors," Swampfur murmured. "Burnstar was killed by a StarClan cat and one of his kits is destined to save both ThunderClan and the clans as a whole."

"Do you know which one?" Stormstar asked.

"I haven't a clue. StarClan, or whatever now has control of StarClan, has not spoken with me since Burnstar's death," Swampfur said. "Was there anything unusual that happened during your ceremony?"

Stormstar shook her head and padded off in silence. That was not what she had expected. She quite clearly had not known what had been happening when Burnstar had been alive.

"If anything happens please tell me!" Swampfur called. Dark mysteries were afoot.

* * *

The world of the Warrior Cats belongs to Erin Hunter. Almost all of the characters belong to me. There is, however, a sequel to this story called _Firestar's Prophecy_, but hopefully, most readers will be able to follow along with what happened. There will be spoilers. Obviously.

If you've got time, please review :)  
Marionettes


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

"The cats that will be joining me at tonight's gathering will be," Stormstar paused as she surveyed the cats of ShadowClan. "Sootwhisker, Rosefur, Swiftstep, Floodstream, Sleetstorm, Risingflight, Smokefur, Thornclaw, and Fawnpaw and Foxpaw and any elder who wishes to join us."

"We'll be staying here, Stormstar. Yesterday's rain doesn't sit well with our bones," Wiseheart called out. Stormstar nodded and leapt down into the crowd and headed for the exit with the selected cats to follow.

Emberpaw looked crushed that he hadn't been chosen to go and Dawnpaw looked eager to stay at camp and work with Swampfur. Brackenpaw didn't know what to do. His mother, Flowerpelt, padded up to them and gave them all an affectionate lick.

"I'm sure Stormstar will take you to the next gathering," she promised.

"But I wanted to go on this one. Did you see how much fresh-kill I brought back?" Emberpaw said. "It's not fair. Fawnpaw and Foxpaw get to do everything."

"All in good time Emberpaw," Flowerpelt consoled. Brackenpaw didn't wish to hear Emberpaw complain and so he made a quick escape a few seconds after Dawnpaw bolted towards Swampfur's den. After wandering around the deserted camp, Brackenpaw ended up sitting with the elders as they recounted old stories.

"Hello, young Brackenpaw," Wiseheart purred. "Glad to see that at least one apprentice still respect his elders."

"Did you visit _your_ elders when you were an apprentice?" Moonpelt remarked. "Canarysong was senile by the time I had enough sense to listen to the elders."

"Canarysong was ancient, you could hardly blame her," Cardinalflight objected. Brackenpaw had always found the elders to be amusing when they quarreled over such meaningless things.

"I'm sure Brackenpaw wants to hear a real story," Moonpelt declared after some time of bickering. "What would you like to hear?"

"Like the ThunderClan raid when Burnstar had been an apprentice and had gotten left behind…" Wiseheart began but then trailed off, remember the difficult situation with Brackenpaw's father and his current namesake. "Your father was one of the wisest cats I have ever been honored to know and Brackenclaw was also a very noble cat."

"I have been told many times," Brackenpaw spoke at last. The three elders all nodded, remembering the two fallen warriors.

After a long pause, Cardinalflight finally spoke, "Perhaps you could go out and catch us some nice fresh-kill? Just don't stray too far."

Brackenpaw nodded, glad to have something other than his namesake and deceased father on his mind. That was all the clan could talk about in his precense and he was tired of it. Even when he was training with Stormstar, she would always be commenting on his skills and how they matched up with his father's and Brackenclaw. When he was in the woods, he was alone. It was calming. Frogs down by the lake were singing and luckily masking his footsteps. It was an excuse for poor form, but Brackenpaw was careful to try and tread quietly. It was almost new leaf but there were still dead leaves covering the forest floor.

He at last caught scent of a mouse. With tender feet, he crept up. It sniffed the air, not scenting him for he had been careful to stay downwind of the critter. It let out a squeak as Brackenclaw plunged a quick claw into it's neck.

He caught a vole and another small mouse just for good measure and returned to camp laden with fresh-kill. He left the small mouse by the fresh-kill pile and brought the vole and the larger mouse to the elders. Moonpelt was napping but Cardinalflight prodded him awake when she saw Brackenpaw approaching. He left the prey at the ginger queen's feet and padded away. Dawnpaw was busy, as usual, with Swampfur and Emberpaw was napping near the apprentices' den.

"Emberpaw!" Brackenpaw hissed quietly, prodding his brother with a gentle paw. "Wake up!"

Groggy, his eyes flickered open, yawned, stretched out and sat with an attentive gaze on Brackenpaw.

"What now, Brackenpaw? Couldn't you see I was napping? WindClan hasn't attacked so there's no reason for me to be up," he teased, though Brackenpaw was quite sure he was being serious about wanting to finish his nap.

"Do you want to practice some fighting?" Brackenpaw inquired. "I'm sure we could get Ashtail to supervise us."

"He's not our mentor, I doubt he'd do that for us," Emberpaw shook his head. "Go tell Flowerpelt that you're going out hunting and be back by nightfall. The rest of the clan will have returned by then and you'll surely be have something to do then. Meanwhile, let me get some sleep."

"You know, when WindClan attacks, you'll probably be napping in the apprentices' den," Brackenpaw told him as he went towards Flowerpelt. With a quick explanation of his boredom, he was out of camp in a matter of seconds. He had just been out hunting, but he had to admit that he enjoyed hunting.

Taking a whiff of air, he caught the usual forest prey but then something stronger. A more potent stench was here, but it wasn't a clan cat. Or at least, he didn't smell like a clan cat. Perhaps an intruder, Brackenpaw thought immediately and continued to follow the scent. Stormstar would chide him the next day for not returning to camp and get a warrior to accompany him but he didn't care.

The scent traced back towards the ThunderClan border. Brackenpaw became aware of every crackling of the leaves beneath his paws and the light breeze ruffling his pelt. This could potentially be dangerous, and he loved the feel of it.

"You let a ShadowClan apprentice track you back, Jumper," a cat growled. Brackenpaw looked around, trying to locate the source. At last, a black she-cat with white face and paws stepping into a shaft of light coming through the leaves. She eyed Brackenpaw as if he were prey and then spoke again, "Did Stormstar leave you behind from the gathering? Oh, poor baby."

"Who are you, and how do you know about Stormstar and ShadowClan?" Brackenpaw demanded, fur bristling. He looked at her icy blue eyes and just glared.

"It's none of your business," another cat, presumably Jumper, retorted. He was a huge cat with several impressive battle scars. "Look at him cower. I can just smell his fear."

"And yet he is still here," the she-cat remarked. Their arrogance and physical presense intimidated Brackenpaw, but he was sure that he was not scared. "Knowing he'd be mouse-meat if we decided to become a little more aggressive."

"Oh stop playing with him, Leif, are we going to let him go or take him back to Crowstar?" Jumper growled. They knew of Crowstar, Brackenstar was taken aback. They clearly were not warriors, otherwise they wouldn't consider killing him then and there.

"We'll let him go. Go back to Stormstar and tell her that Crowstar wants to speak with her," the she-cat, Leif, said.

"Get off ShadowClan territory, and then I will deliver your message," Brackenpaw managed to choke out. Perhaps he was a little scared, although he did not want to admit it to himself. They purred at his effort to be authoritative but did not say anything. Slowly, they padded off and were swallowed up in the darkness of ThunderClan's forest.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Brackenpaw caught a squirrel and a mouse on the way back to camp, just to ensure that he had something to show for his outing. Emberpaw would never let him hear the end of it if he didn't. Emberpaw had however been right about one thing, the group of cats who had gone to the gathering had returned when Brackenpaw got back to camp.

The warriors who had not attended the gathering were crowded around the warriors who had and Dawnpaw and Emberpaw were glaring at Fawnpaw and Foxpaw. Brackenpaw threw his freshkill onto the pile and chose a small mouse for himself. He settled himself next to his kin and began to chew on the prey.

"So what happened at the gathering?" Brackenpaw asked between bites.

"ThunderClan has more kits and Rushtail and Cloudfoot are having to deal with a greencough outbreak in RiverClan," Dawnpaw said quickly. Emberpaw refused to take his eyes off of the other two apprentices. "Emberpaw is sour because apparently all of the great warriors were at the gathering. Together. And apparently they were having a mock tournament to see who was the best since RiverClan was late."

"That's right, and those two pieces of fox dung got to see it," Emberpaw sighed. "I would have given my pelt to see Ravenstar and Gingerfrost have a little spar, even if it were just for play."

"I'm sure we'll be able to go to the next gathering," Dawnpaw declared as if she were Stormstar herself. "Anyways, I'm going to get some sleep because Swampfur said I'd be doing a lot of gathering tomorrow."

Dawnpaw disappeared into the apprentice's den and Emberpaw grudgingly followed, mumbling that he was on the dawn patrol and needed to sleep early. Now was the time to tell Stormstar about Leif and Jumper's request. Making his way towards the center of camp, Brackenpaw was dismayed to see that Stormstar was completely surrounded by the senior warriors.

"Shouldn't you be with the other apprentices, Brackenpaw?" Sootwhisker inquired. "It's pretty late now already and I'm sure Stormstar will be putting you to work in the morning."

"I have to tell her something," Brackenpaw shook his head. "And Emberpaw is on the dawn patrol so I can afford to sleep in."

"Oh, is he now? I don't remember putting him there," Sootwhisker remarked.

"Maybe he just wanted an excuse to get to sleep early," Brackenpaw sighed. "He's so lazy."

"Yes, well, maybe a dawn patrol would do him good. I'll speak to Rosefur," Sootwhisker considered. "If you've got to speak with Stormstar, you might have to wait until tomorrow."

"It's of immediate importance," Brackenpaw insisted. Sootwhisker considered this and then offered the solution of Brackenpaw delivering his message to Sootwhisker and then Sootwhisker would relay his message to their leader. "Two ThunderClan cats told me to tell Stormstar that Crowstar wanted to meet with her this evening."

"Are you sure they weren't pulling your tail?" Sootwhisker said with a most dire tone, but Brackenpaw could see the grey tom's eyes teasing him, though he was serious. Brackenpaw nodded rigorously as the deputy sighed, "Are you aware that our situation with ThunderClan is not the most amiable? I suppose a message is a message and Stormstar can decide for herself what's to happen."

"Thank you, Sootwhisker," Brackenpaw nodded. Being clearly dismissed by Sootwhisker, Brackenpaw scurried back to the apprentices' den. Sootwhisker had been right, ShadowClan and ThunderClan were not on good terms but those two warriors seemed to be serious and perhaps Stormstar would be able to fix their relationship. Brackenpaw had been told countless times of the events prior his birth. ThunderClan had been pushing borders and had been raided by both ShadowClan and WindClan and then WindClan had become busy with internal issues, well really it still was consumed by inner instability but it had been worse then. ThunderClan had promptly after that become very hostile towards ShadowClan for unobvious reasons. Maybe this meeting was cover up for something more sinister. Stormstar would be prepared for whatever it was, Brackenpaw figured.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

In the den, Dawnpaw and Emberpaw were both asleep but Fawnpaw and Foxpaw were awake and talking quietly to themselves. Brackenpaw didn't want to go to sleep yet as he wanted to hear Stormstar's decision about the meeting with ThunderClan.

"Hey," Brackenpaw said as cheerfully as he could with two cats glaring at him as if they were snakes. The two apprentices fell silent and glared at Brackenpaw as he tried to start some casual conversation. "You don't have to be so…silent. We're all in the same clan and we'll all fight together some day so you'll have to at least be tolerant of us."

"That was an awfully inspirational speech," Foxpaw spat. "I'm sure your father would be proud."

Brackenpaw sighed and thought to himself, those two were hopeless. Maybe not Fawnpaw, but Foxpaw was always especially hostile. There was a rustle of noise as a patrol of cats left, and Brackenpaw thought he picked up Stormstar's scent leaving camp. She had chosen to go to the meeting. Hopefully Crowstar wouldn't double-cross ShadowClan and this would be a friendly meeting. Brackenpaw just didn't feel good about it, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

"You know anything about why Stormstar just left?" Foxpaw inquired. He managed to turn even the most simple question into a subtle insult. It was the attitude, Brackenpaw was sure, and he was thankful that none of his littermates was like Foxpaw. Fawnpaw must be overwhelmed by her bossy brother.

"Meeting with Crowstar," Brackenpaw replied quietly, hoping that Foxpaw wouldn't draw out this conversation into an interrogation. Luckily, Foxpaw backed down and turned to gossip with his quieter sister.

Brackenpaw went to his corner of their den, a hollowed out log that had fallen over long before any warrior had step foot near the lake. He relished the familiar smell of his litter mates and then settled down for a quick nap. He hoped to wake and hear the results of Stormstar's excursion.

There was a rustling that tingled in his ears though, and he couldn't seem to fall asleep. The rustling of the dead leaves outside their camp. It was too soon for Stormstar to return, and then Brackenpaw caught wind of the scent. It was ThunderClan. Foxpaw was staring at him as he tore out of their den to the front of camp to be met with dozens of pairs of eyes peeking back at him in the darkness of the night.

"ThunderClan!" Brackenpaw yowled as he backed away from entrance. First it was one step at a time, but soon he was running towards the warriors den to awaken the warriors who had stayed behind.

Rosefur was the first cat he caught sight of and he was jostling her awake within seconds as he hissed at the others of ThunderClan's presence in the heart of their camp. There was a panic as the warriors groggily rose from their slumber and were alerted to the situation. In a matter of seconds the warriors' den was empty and Brackenpaw was sprinting alongside Swiftstep and Ashtail to the nursery.

Ashtail intercepted a ThunderClan cat and soon a flurry of gray and brown fur tumbled before Brackenpaw's eyes as he poked his head inside the nursery. Frostdawn and her swollen belly filled with kits were untouched, just very frightened. Words leapt out of Brackenpaw's mouth as he struggled to explain what was happening.

"I'm going to have the elders and Swampfur move over here, it's easier to protect. You have to hold your own for a few seconds, Brackenpaw," Swiftstep hissed as he darted between the fighting cats. Brackenpaw nodded and turned to watch ShadowClan and ThunderClan warriors fight with tooth and claw. Brackenclaw was unable to identify most of the ThunderClan cats but he did recognize Jumper and Leif's darker pelts. They were fierce fighters, and Brackenpaw felt relieved that he hadn't chosen to attack the two of them on the ShadowClan border for he knew it wouldn't have gone well.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a white-ginger ThunderClan warrior move towards the apprentices' den, probably thinking it was the nursery or Swampfur's den. It was then that he realized that Dawnpaw and Emberpaw were both sleeping, and Foxpaw and Fawnpaw had left them there alone. How could they have been so careless to leave fellow clanmates sleeping during an attack? Surely Foxpaw couldn't despise them that much.

Brackenpaw was torn between making sure no one harmed Frostdawn and going to help his brother and sister but Frostdawn was defenseless and Emberpaw at least could fight some. As soon as Swiftstep returned Brackenpaw would make sure they were ok. Swiftstep was taking an unusually long time and the ThunderClan warrior hadn't emerged from the apprentices' den yet and Brackenpaw was seriously concerned. He looked back and Frostdawn who had curled up in the furthest corner of the nursery with her tail protectively wrapped around her belly, not that it would be much protection against an angry ThunderClan warrior's claws.

"Brackenpaw!" was the blood-curdling cry from the apprentices' den that really made Brackenpaw nervous. Brackenpaw could see Swiftstep followed by the three elders and something was clearly wrong in the apprentices den. Ashtail had the ThunderClan warrior pinned against the ground, so in a split second, Brackenpaw was in the apprentices' den standing in a pool of blood. The white-ginger warrior whipped around with blood dripping from his claws over the body of Emberpaw. Dawnpaw stared speechlessly in fright and was slowly backing away.

"Oh, StarClan no," Brackenclaw cried as he launched himself at the warrior. "Dawnpaw, run to the nursery, quick! Tell Swiftstep…"

He couldn't give her much more instructions because he found himself ploughing over the unsuspecting ThunderClan warrior. The element of surprise was on his side, for the ThunderClan warrior figured another apprentice would be easy. Brackenpaw was filled with vengeance and anguish as he numbly raked his hind claws down the ginger warrior's side. He let out a primal scream as Brackenpaw dug his front claws into the warrior's shoulders.

"Brackenpaw, let him go," Ashtail snarled as he bowled over the dark ginger tom, leaving the ThunderClan warrior to writhe away like the wretched snake he was. "I'm sorry Emberpaw was killed but this is no time for revenge."

"They attacked our camp," Brackenpaw snarled, bristling with a deadly concoction of emotions. Anger, hatred, guilt, confusion even. Why hadn't he spoken up about his hutch? Why had he left Emberpaw sleeping in the den? Why had the ThunderClan warrior killed a sleeping, innocent apprentice?

Ashtail gave him a sympathetic look and then backed out of the den to allow Dawnpaw and Flowertail to slip into the den to see Emberpaw's body. No mother should outlive one of her kits.


End file.
